[01/21/10 - 05:09 AM]R&b Superstar Omarion Heats Up Thursday Nights on MTV as the Network Names Him the New Judge of Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew He'll replace Shane Sparks on the new season, due Thursday, January 28 at 10:00/9:00c.

[via press release from MTV]

R&B SUPERSTAR OMARION HEATS UP THURSDAY NIGHTS ON MTV AS THE NETWORK NAMES HIM THE NEW JUDGE OF RANDY JACKSON PRESENTS AMERICA'S BEST DANCE CREW

Season Five of America's Best Dance Crew Premieres Thursday, January 28, at 10p.m. ET/PT

NEW YORK (January 21, 2010) � Hot crews and high school phenoms will make room for one of the music industry's reigning triple threats when R&B superstar Omarion takes his seat at the judges' table for Season Five of Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew. Premiering Thursday, January 28th at 10p.m. ET/PT and airing back to back with Season Two of Taking The Stage at 11p.m. ET/PT (premiere episode sneak peek airs Saturday, January 23rd at 9p.m. ET/PT), the hit dance competition series from Warner Horizon Television will feature the accomplished Grammy-nominated singer, actor and dancer as he guides another roster of the nation's most talented dance crews towards their goal of a $100,000 cash prize and the title of America's Best Dance Crew.

Omarion is one of the most accomplished, multi-talented young stars of his generation. His music and music videos have influenced hip-hop dance going back to his B2k days and in more recent years as a platinum-selling solo artist, said Liz Gateley, Senior Vice President of Series Development for MTV. He is an accomplished dancer, artist and actor who knows what makes a good dance crew performance. We are very excited for him to join Lil Mama and JC Chasez as our third judge.

Omarion is a great friend and I am looking forward to him joining the ABDC family, said Randy Jackson, executive producer of America's Best Dance Crew. Season Five is going to be blazing hot.

I'm so excited to be a judge on MTV's �America's Best Dance Crew', says Omarion. Dancing and performing is what I do and being a judge on this show will allow me to give creative feedback to the newest and hottest dancers on the rise.

Airing Thursdays at 10p.m., Season Five of America's Best Dance Crew, MTV's top-ranking cable program among P12-34 from Warner Horizon Television and executive produced by Randy Jackson, will feature more of the jaw-dropping dance moves and stunts viewers have come to love. Featuring five crews each from the West, South and East, all 15 will compete in regional battles to the finish. The first three episodes will narrow these 15 crews down to the final nine that will compete this season.

A professional dancer trained in tap, jazz, hip-hop and African dance, Omarion joins J.C. Chasez (*NSYNC) and Lil Mama ("Voice of the Young People") as judges on the "Dance Crew" stage. The series is hosted by Mario Lopez ("Extra"); Layla Kayleigh ("World Poker Tour") serves as backstage correspondent.

In its fourth season, America's Best Dance Crew successfully moved into its Sunday 9p.m. time period, where it delivered a 1.7 P12-34 rating and ranked #1 in its time period versus all ad-supported cable competition. In Season Four, the series also reached an audience of over 68 million viewers with over 30 million from the P12-34 core. During Season One, Taking The Stage (March 19 � May 7) consistently ranked #1 in its time period (Thursdays, 10p.m. � 11p.m.) among W18-24 versus all cable competition and reached over 39 million total viewers (P2+).

Show devotees can log onto DanceCrew.MTV.com and TakingTheStage.MTV.com to catch up on the most recent seasons by viewing full episodes and can check-out cast bios, photo flipbooks and visit the Remote Control blog for show-related information.

Omarion recently inked his own label deal, StarrWorld Entertainment, under the umbrella of EMI Label Services. The album, "Ollusion" was released on January 12th and is his third solo album as well as being his first release under the record label. The triple threat entertainer's first single I Get It In, featuring Gucci Mane, reached #15 on Billboard's Mainstream R&B Chart. The second single, Speedin, was #1 most added song at Urban radio at the top of January and is the fastest growing single in his career (including his time in B2K). He wrote e and co-produced all of the songs on the album.

Omarion has released two chart topping solo albums since leaving the multi-platinum selling group B2K. His first solo album, "O," debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. His sophomore album, "21," dominated radio airplay and also debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The second single from "21," "Ice Box," produced by Timbaland, topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was a platinum-selling ringtone. Also an actor and producer, he has appeared in several films � most notably "You Got Served �" which was a #1 box office smash that earned $40 million worldwide. He also added author to his resume in 2004, releasing a solo autobiography titled, "O" on behalf of MTV.

Taking The Stage is conceptualized and executive produced by multi-platinum recording artist and actor Nick Lachey (former member of 98 Degrees, Charmed,NBC's Clash of the Choirs), an SCPA graduate, based on his own experience attending the school. Colton Gramm, Mark Ford & Kevin Lopez and Marc Platt also serve as executive producers for the series. Liz Gateley executive produces the series for MTV along with Heather Olander who also serves as the Executive In Charge of the series for the network.

About MTV:

MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 28 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries -- giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV is the number one rated full-day ad-supported cable network for P12-24. Online, MTV.com averaged 8.5 million monthly unique visitors during the first quarter of 2009 -- up +6% from Q4/2008 and up +6% year-over-year. Total video streams for the first quarter of 2009 increased 21% over the same time period last year. And MTV's successful sibling networks MTV2, mtvU and MTV Tr3s each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving music fans, college students and young American Latinos like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

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